What causes a cow to stop eating?

Raising cattle requires meticulous management, yet various problems always arise in breeding, and the most frustrating one is when cattle stop eating. There are many reasons why cattle stop eating. Below, Qinong Net introduces several of the most common causes. You can check your own cattle against the following content, and if any of these apply, manage them promptly.

1. Rumen impaction

Rumen impaction is caused by being too eager to fatten cattle and overfeeding, so that after each feeding there is leftover food in the rumen, which over time accumulates into hard lumps, making the cow unable to digest anymore. When rumen impaction occurs, the cow will ruminate, stop eating, and its abdomen will become abnormally distended; if you touch it with your hand, it will feel hard. In daily breeding, do not pursue rapid fattening excessively, as cattle cannot handle it and it easily backfires.

2. Gastroenteritis

Gastroenteritis is also mostly caused by problems with the feed given in daily feeding, such as moldy forage or certain forages that cannot be mixed and fed together. After being fed to cattle, they cause inflammation of the cattle's stomach and intestines. It may also be that the food fed is highly irritating and damages the gastric mucosa, causing inflammation. After gastroenteritis occurs, the cow will stop eating, sometimes drink water frequently, its body temperature will also change, and its excrement will become foul-smelling. The above conditions are all common symptoms of gastroenteritis.

3. Improper feeding

Problems in all aspects of feeding are the most likely to cause cattle to stop eating. If the feed trough is not cleaned regularly, the remaining residue undergoes certain reactions, and even if fresh food continues to be put into the feed trough, the cow will still stop eating. Secondly, some foods are fed without being processed, especially sweet potatoes and the like; such items most easily cause stomach blockage in cattle. Daily forage should also be processed as much as possible. The starting point of all this is to let cattle absorb it better, so as to avoid discomfort that hinders eating.

4. Sanitation and disease

This aspect requires more attention to management; if ignored, it will cause major losses. The sanitation of the cattle shed must be cleaned thoroughly, and the shed should be cleaned frequently. It is even better to spread some plant ash to adsorb pathogens. A relatively dirty and messy cattle shed will seriously affect the cattle's appetite, and when it becomes dirty and messy to a certain degree, the cattle will stop eating because they are very likely ill. Secondly, there is the issue of parasites. Many parasites will make cattle become irritable, rubbing against the railing every day, so how would they have the mood to eat? Therefore, deworming should be done at irregular intervals, more than 3 times a year.

Raising cattle is still a meticulous job. For cattle to grow better, the food fed daily should be carefully checked, and it should also be changed at irregular intervals. Before changing, it is best to experiment first to see whether the cattle will have any problems after eating it. The cattle pen should still be cleaned regularly, and it is best to bathe the cattle at irregular intervals. A clean environment can always effectively suppress the appearance of some parasites.